Your guide to the race for California’s 37th Assembly District
Two challengers are vying to represent the Central Coast in California’s 37th Assembly District, which includes a small part of southern San Luis Obispo County.
Republican Sari Domingues, a retired business analyst, is running against incumbent Gregg Hart, a Democrat, who’s held the seat since he was first elected in 2022.
It’s the same two-person face-off from two years ago when Hart won with just over 60% of the vote in the 2024 general election.
San Luis Obispo County is represented by two Assembly districts in the state Legislature — Districts 30 and 37. Most of the county falls into District 30, which spans north into portions of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
The primary election for the Central Coast seat will be held on June 2.
Where is the district?
California 37th Assembly District contains all of Santa Barbara County and a small triangle in southern San Luis Obispo County.
The district includes the unincorporated communities of Nipomo, Los Berros, Blacklake, Callender and Woodlands in SLO County.
Who are the candidates?
Domingues was born and raised in Santa Maria. She worked in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District before becoming a business analyst for Monterey County for 27 years, according to her Linkedin profile.
She also has a master’s degree in organizational leadership. Now retired, Domingues said she wants to return responsible governance to California. She calls herself a “conservative, America First Republican” who stands for “responsibility, common sense, morality and accountability,” her campaign website said.
Hart has a long career in Santa Barbara County politics, first working as a legislative assistant for Assemblymember Jack O’Connell, before becoming the deputy executive director of the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments.
Hart also served four terms on Santa Barbara’s City Council, beginning in 1995. He then won a seat on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors in 2018, before being elected to the State Assembly in 2022.
For 20 years, he also owned and operated Transitions Preschools, a “family business dedicated to early-childhood education and quality childcare,” according to his campaign website.
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Who is funding the race?
Hart has received nearly $412,000 across 215 contributions for his 2026 campaign as of March 31.
His biggest donors are the Faculty for Our University’s Future — a committee sponsored by the California Faculty Association — and the Pechanga Band of Indians, who each gifted $11,800, campaign finance records showed.
The California State Association of Electrical Workers and the State Pipe Trades Council PAC each donated $10,000 to Hart’s campaign.
So far, Domingues has no campaign finance data available for her 2026 campaign.
During her 2024 campaign, she raised nearly $4,000 across 10 campaign contributions, mostly from small-dollar donors, according to California Secretary of State’s website.
Who else is supporting the candidates?
Hart has been endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Alex Padilla, along with SLO County Congressman Salud Carbajal and Central Coast State Sens. John Laird and Monique Limón, as well as many other elected leaders and community members.
Several statewide organizations have also backed Hart, including the California Democratic Party, the California Labor Federation and the California Teachers Association.
Domingues has received endorsements from the California Republican Party and the SLO and Santa Barbara County Republican Parties.
Former California Congresswoman Andrea Seastrand and former SLO County Supervisor Debbie Arnold have also endorsed her for the seat, as well as San Diego Assemblymember Carl DeMaio.
This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Your guide to the race for California’s 37th Assembly District."
